Raising Naturally Healthy Puppies

Raising puppies naturally can take a little effort, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy and puppies stay healthy and well. Please follow the links below. Many have links to books and other websites that can give you more information that can help educate you about keeping your furry puppy companion happy, healthy, disease free, and greatly extend their life expectancy, so you'll have many wonderful years together with them.

Raising optimally healthy puppies starts with the puppies parents and grandparents. Some people know who the parents of their puppies are, some don't. Either way, getting your puppy started on a natural health program will help assure it stays healthy.

1. As soon as your puppy starts eating on its own, give it food grade diatomaceous earth in its daily food. This will keep worms from eating your puppy from the inside out, stealing vital nutrients from the food your puppy eats, and sucking your puppy’s blood. It may help prevent coccidia and the need and use of traditional chemical wormers like Strongid, Pyrantel, Ivermectin, etc. which are actual poisons, plus food grade diatomaceous earth sweeps some bacteria and viruses out of the system, as well as provides 15 vital minerals to keep young ones healthy and strong. DE can be mixed in 100% Pure New Zealand Colostrum and/or raw goat milk. Puppies will lick it right up or it can be added to their raw chicken liver, heart, gizzards, etc.
2. Feed Species Appropriate Nutrition aka raw meat and bones for optimum health. Puppies who have just started to eat on their own love raw chicken hearts, liver, ground turkey, gizzards, and similar easy to chew real human grade raw food. At 5 to 6 weeks of age, they can gnaw on raw chicken necks (mom's will clean up what the puppies don't finish) and by 8 weeks of age they consume the entire chicken neck by themselves. Most puppies can consume whole raw chicken wings by the time they are 2 to 3 months of age. Note, feeding RMB's (Raw Meaty Bones) also exercises puppy teeth and gums, which can help lessen their need to chew on all non-edible things in sight.
3. If you have had issues with coccidia or giardia, see #1 above. You can preventatively dose with Kochi Free (formerly Kocci Free) 2x/day for 10 full days starting as early as 13 days of age OR quickly remedy coccidia and giardia by giving Kochi Free 4x/day for 10 full days. Coccidia is a dis-ease of a stressed immune system. Raising puppies naturally by using a natural effective wormer (read "not toxic") as soon as they are drinking and/or eating on their own, fed excellent nutrition as indicated above, and do not vaccinate until maternal antibodies dictate at 9 weeks of age (preferably with just a single parvo and distemper vaccine, not the multi-vaccines) helps keep the immune system stronger, compared to traditionally raised pets. When you think about it, traditionally raised pets are often given traditional chemical wormers every 2-3 weeks, often rotating those worming medications because worms have developed some immunity to them, as early as 2 weeks of age, then vaccinating with 5-6-7-8 disease in one vaccines as early as 3-4 weeks of age and every 2 weeks or so thereafter, while the puppy is starting to be weaned to solid food just overloads/weakens the immune system, making the body more susceptible to disease. Additionally, having excessive worm loads will stress the immune system and since puppies are born with roundworms and hookworms, it is essential to worm them early and naturally. Potbellied puppies are not healthy, they have worms.
4. If you feel the need to vaccinate, consider Dr. Jean Dodds' recommended vaccination protocol for puppies. She recommends TWO single (parvo and distemper) vaccinations, one at 9 weeks of age and another at 12 weeks of age. Give Amber Naturalz Life Cell Support for 1 to 2 weeks prior to getting vaccinations and for 30 days afterwards, twice daily to help alleviate the stress on the body, help sweep some of the toxins from the vaccines out of the blood, liver, and lymphatic system.
5. PARVO PREVENTION: If you have previously had parvo on your premises, please read the information about organic herbal Paxaid (formerly Parvaid) &Vibactra Plus as these products are known to prevent parvo (aka parvo virus) when puppies have been exposed to the virus and these organic herbal products can also help to heal canine parvo. Many breeders andrescues use these products preventatively with near 100% success. If you have a puppy, we highly recommend having these products on hand. The Puppy Care Kit is a natural puppy health care kit that contains Paxaid, Vibactra Plus, Life Cell Support, Pets C&C (formerly Vintesta), and a few other puppy health care remedies at a discounted price.
6. Keep your dogs and puppies free from fleas and ticks naturally with Flea Free, as soon as they are drinking on their own; andto lessen the itching from fleas lightly dust your puppy with food grade diatomaceous earth. More information about naturally addressing fleas is on our No Flea web page.
7. Give 100% New Zealand Colostrum daily, especially great for weaning puppies, as it is excellent to help strengthen the immune system, provides antibodies, helps build muscle mass (we have a lot of pro athletes that take it daily and pro football wives are ordering overnight delivery because their husband ran out), etc. and all puppies and dogs LOVE it! I give it for life to all my canines, who live to be 16-17+ years of age, healthy and disease free, and weigh 75 to 120 lbs. Breed books say their average life expectancy is 10-12 years.
8. Rx Vitamins Rx Biotic Professional Veterinary Formula provides excellent balanced probiotic support for vital healthy digestion that helps assure the nutrients from the food you are feeding your puppy is utilized for optimal nutrition and health. Great when puppies are subjected to use of antibiotics to maintain proper gut flora as well. Traditional pet foods and even most raw diets do not contain the proper probiotics and enzymes needed for optimal well-being.
9. Organic Icelandic Kelp is an excellent way to assure they are getting over 60 vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
10. Please cleanse and detox your puppy/dog’s body regularly, starting at 6 months of age. Even if you feed a certified organic diet, dogs, like us, are exposed to toxins in our environment – formaldehyde in carpet, motor oil on streets/parking lots, pesticides in park and neighborhood lawns, air/water pollution, fluoride and chlorine in household tap water, toxic traditional meds/wormers/preventatives, toxins in their toys, beds, etc. Our companions parents’ health history and genetic health issues are passed onto their offspring. Regular cleansing and detoxing helps rid the body (blood, kidneys, heart, liver, and lymphatic system) of negative health issues that can be passed down to your furry family member and helps boost their immune system. Cleansing the body provides a cleaner environment, so the immune system can function as it was designed to do. All of this, of course, helps increase our companions healthful longevity by many years and helps to prevent health issues. In our experience and opinion, detoxing and cleansing the body is one of the #1 things we can do for our pets to ensure healthful longevity and it is far better than waiting until disease strikes and then trying to combat it. Prevention is always worth 100 lbs. of cure, not to mention saving us and our pets the physical, mental, emotional, and financial stress disease can cause.
    Our protocol is 2-3x/day for 30 days both spring and fall (less stressful months of the year) for all canines and felines. The Internal Gold Detox Kit contains both organic Kidney Rejuvenator and organic Life Cell Support that help cleanse and purify the blood, kidneys, liver, and lymphatic system. Organic Essiac Tea is excellent and can be given 2-3x/day in lieu of the Life Cell Support as they are both similar products that cleanse and purify the blood, liver, and lymphatic system. Bentonite Clay is excellent to help detox the body and especially good for poisoning issues, such as salmonella and campy (Campylobacteriosis). It is also excellent to normalize diarrhea or constipation issues. Many people and pets consume it daily. Organic food grade diatomaceous earth is a good mild detox and something we choose to consume and feed daily to all animals. Cleansing and detoxing the body is similar to properly maintaining your automobile. If you regularly change the oil, radiator fluid, transmission fluid, your car will last much longer. If you leave the same old fluid sludge in your vehicle, it doesn't run as well or as long. Cleansing and detoxing the body is an excellent preventative health maintenance program to keep us and our pets living longer, healthier lives.
11. If you are concerned about heartworm use Organic Heartworm Free for heartworm prevention without the toxic side effects that come with traditional chemical heartworm preventatives.
12. If you travel frequently with your puppy and until you get its immune system strong and healthy, we recommend spraying your pup and yourself with a good herbal flea, tick, mosquito repellent spray . We offer the Hikers’ Friend for your companion animals and Hikers' Guard for people. Both of these natural flea and tick repellent spray can be sprayed well into their underbelly, armpits, and other areas to prevent the fleas/ticks from hopping on them when you are taking them for walks in areas that fleas and ticks are abundant or during “mosquito hours.” For more information on Natural Flea Control, please visit our No Flea web page.
13. Be sure to change your puppies water bowl daily or more frequently if it plays in the water and gets it dirty. Plenty of clean pure fresh water is essential to pet health just as it is for people. Preferably do not give city tap water, as most city municipalities chlorinate the water which can cause cancer.
14. Make sure your puppy gets plenty of good healthy exercise. For proper growth and healthful longevity, daily exercise, fresh air, and sunshine is essential for everyone. Do not use choke chains, pronged collars, etc. that can hurt your puppy. We have found the Walk In Sync™ harness to be the best. With the Walk In Sync™ Humane Dog Walking and Training System, developed by trainer Alecia Evans, you can train your puppy to walk on a leash without causing harm to him or her. Even heavy pullers can be leash trained with this system.
15. Proper training is essential to the health of puppies, dogs, and their humans. We recommend clicker training with real food treats and/or play toys as rewards. We love the Clik Stik for target training. A well trained puppy (often it's the humans who need training as well) is a blessing to everyone in the household and keeps everyone - human and canine happier and healthier. Compared to the puppy who grows up and becomes an adult and is digging up the yard, destroying things in the house, etc., which makes life a bit difficult for the humans and the dog. Gentle training methods can be fun for everyone and the result is a harmonious lifestyle for all.
16. If you are a breeder, please see our Breeder Natural Health Web Page for natural health information about breeding canines and felines.
17. Please read our Senior Pet Natural Health Web Page, to keep your older companion naturally strong and healthy or if your senior pet is experiencing health issues.
18. Rescues and Sanctuaries, please visit our Rescue Natural Health Web Page for information on obtaining/maintaining optimal animal health naturally.

This site is dedicated to all animals and their guardians. Whether you are here to find information and links to research holistic methods or just browsing, please feel free to linger as long as you wish.

The information on this web site is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician or veterinarian. This information is not intended as a substitute for the reader's independent judgment and personal responsibility. Health issues are far too important to delegate to anyone else. It is highly recommended you research and seek information and counsel from as wide a variety of sources as possible, so you can make well informed educated decisions about you, your child's, or your pet's health, as in the end YOU make the decisions.